For the second straight game, Spurs came back to win 2-1 away from home.

Tottenham Hotspur salvaged and scrapped another three points from another bottom dweller by beating Sunderland 2-1 Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was an important win.

Sunderland took the lead after Hugo Lloris made a crucial mistake, (one that I a very amateur keeper can confidently say I wouldn’t have made) when he tried to punch a cross away when he had plenty of time and room to make a clean catch.

I know I wouldn’t have punched it cuz I never punch, even when I should.

But it didn’t take long for Spurs to equalize when Paulinho poked in a lose ball after a free kick.

Then in the second half, Dembele made a great run, then got lucky at the expense of John O’Shea after a pass deflected off him and inside the post off the keeper’s shin.

Vertonghen was unavailable due to injury and so was Vlad Chirches. Nuaghton and Capoue did admirably filling in on the back line. Especially Capoue, who primarily plays defensive mid, not centre back.

Bottom line is Spurs took care of business on a day that plenty of the top teams dropped points. City drew 1-1 verse Southampton, Chelsea lost to Stoke, and ManU continued their mighty struggle under David Moyes.

It was an important three points. Andre Villas-Boas’s hot seat is cooling rather quickly.

According to AVB though, the problems are behind Spurs and their on track.

I am not so willing to declare this, as Spurs continue to be the only Premier League team to fail to score more than twice in one game. Although Spurs today should have scored 5, but fact remains they didn’t.

Somebody needs to finish. Perhaps that someone comes to the team in January.

Andre Villas-Boas is safe for at least another week as struggling Tottenham take the first step towards righting the ship after a 2-1 London Derby victory of Fulham.

AVB’s job has been reportedly up in the air ever since a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City.

Villas-Boas had been criticized for his tactics, lack of creativity, and the teams lack of goals. Most recently, media pundits have been harsh on the managers integrity, pointing to the fact that after each disappointment Villas-Boas has managed to blame everyone but himself.

He had blamed fans for groaning, players for not playing with pride, and even the team doctors for not clearing keeper Hugo Lloris for two matches.

After the 2-2 draw to Manchester United, Villas Boas took to the offensive against the media, not taking too kindly to the shots at his integrity.

When in an argument with one specific report, Villas-Boas was asked if he thought if he was treated with respect.

The eschange between manager and journalist got intense, as Villas-Boas continued, “You have always chased people, you attack people. You don’t attack them by the front, you attack them sitting when you write. You attack integrities, you attack competence, the integrity of a person, their human values and you don’t even know that person.

One thing’s been clear throughout this whole managerial controversy: the players still support their man.

“There has never been disunity in the squad,” said veteran keeper Brad Friedel in an interview with Sky Sports News. “The squad is together and the whole team and all the players back the manager.”

Brazilian midfielder Sandro insists that AVB hasn’t lost the lockerroom, despite reports in the media to the contrary.

“Everyone likes him,” he said, “we have to play for him and I think everyone is going to do that out on the pitch.”

The win will be sigh of relief for the manager, who supposedly turned down offers from two European giants, Real Madrid and Paris St. Germaine, to stay at the helm of Spurs.

Only time will tell if he made the right decision, and only victories will save him his position.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Marlins are close to signing first baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Jones, who was let go by the Pirates last week.

Jones lost his job to Justin Morneau down the stretch and the Pirates didn’t want to pay him around $5 million via arbitration. Why the Marlins want him is sort of unclear, because Jones is a mediocre 33-year-old coming off a career-worst season in which he hit just .233 with 15 homers and a .708 OPS in 144 games.

Signing him would clear the path for Miami to trade Logan Morrison and perhaps that deal could bring back some long-term help in the form of young talent, but a Morrison-for-Jones switch isn’t likely to help the lineup any in the short term.

UPDATE: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinelreports that Jones is getting a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

It took two late goals, but Tottenham managed to pull out all three points against bottom dweller Fulham with a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham looked sluggish in the first half, but so did Fulham. Both teams had good chances but neither could find the scoring touch and the sides were scoreless after the first 45.

Fulham would strike first, capitalizing on a Michael Dawson giveaway at midfield. Ashkan Dejagah was played into space by forward Dimitar Berbatov and beat Hugo Lloris with a powerful shot.

Woeful Fulham smelling victory for the first time since October, collapsed into a defensive shell, ten men behind the ball at times trying to hold the lead.

Berbatov, after being called for a foul, was seen urging more players to move forward, complaining they were too deep behind the ball.

No more than a minute after this, Tottenham won a corner which was poorly taken by Kyle Walker. But the ball fell to Vlad Chirches from well outside the box, who then placed what looked harmless enough of a ball back into the box that had eyes for the net getting through bodies and banking off the post for his first Tottenham goal.

The feeling from the match was if Spurs could get one, they could get two. And about ten minutes later, Lewis Holtby did his best Gareth Bale impersonation blasting a left-footed cracker from outside the box into the upper 90.

Spurs survived a stoppage time flurry from Fulham that included a Kassami shot that hit the woodwork.

Tottenham Hotspurs take on Fulham FC today in a Premier League clash of two teams trending in the wrong direction.

Spurs are coming off a solid performance against Manchester United. Unfortunately, Spurs only managed a 2-2 draw after they lost the lead two separate times on two separate mistakes.

Fulham, however, is worse off than Tottenham. Fulham stands as one of the three bottom-dwellers of the league with only 10 points on the season after 13 games. Manager Martin Jol was sacked because of the dreadful start for the Cottagers.

Spurs look to continue the momentum of finally playing a game with great pace and should be able to run against Fulham, who haven’t won a game since October 21st.

Both teams are desperate for three points, which should make this edition of the London Derby an intriguing match up.

Our beloved Spurs were in dire straights going into Saturday’s affair with Manchester United after failing to score in three straight premier league matches and manager Andre Villas[Boas square on the hot seat.

And for the first time all season, Tottenham came out firing on all cylinders looking like a team focused on pace rather than technical build up.

Unfortunately for Spurs, they could only muster a 2-2 draw.

ManU may have had more of the possession, but the better chances belonged to Spurs today and probably deserved a better result.

Kyle Walker started off the scoring after blasting a free kick underneath the wall. United Keeper De Gea did not seem pleased with his wall after the goal.

The lead didn’t last long, when a cross from Valencia was miss-handled by Kyle Walker, fell right to Wayne Rooney who poached into the upper-ninety.

Then in second half, after surviving a run of possession by ManU, Sandro blasted and bent in an outstanding goal that deserves goal of the month consideration.

Unfortunately, that lead lasted six minutes. Danny Welbeck drew a penalty when Hugo Lloris clipped his feet and missed the ball. Wayne Rooney put it in from the spot.

AVB shook up the lineup putting the speedy Aaron Lennon and tall-pacey Nacer Chadli on the wings. Only one inverted winger this time. And it worked. Tottenham showed more pace Saturday than any other game so far.

Spurs next premier league game is against the dismal Fulham. So if that game doesn’t yield three points, it’s adios AVB